Total Body Surgical Blog

 Don't we all have unwanted hair??On the face maybe??

  Feel like you are wearing a sweater all the time due to unwanted back, arm, or chest hair??

  Tired of shaving those legs??  That's a lot of real estate to manage isn't it??

Maybe you are tired of managing hair in those unmentionable places??

Hair is a funny thing.  It seems that where we want it, it doesn't grow, and where we don't want it, it grows like crazy.  In society today, hair on the body is not a desirable thing.

Traditionally, hair has been managed by a number of means...all of them temporary.

  Tweezers have been a common tool along with razors, shavers, and even hot wax.  Everyone has seen movie scenes where the star is punished by waxing large tracts of hair (40 Year Old Virgin)....it looks terribly painful and not much fun.

Now that laser and pulsed light technology is common, it can be used very effectively to reduce the volume and thickness of hair in almost every area.  As we have been discussing in recent blogs, laser light effectiveness depends on wavelength.  Hair grows from buds that contain pigment and stem cells.

  When the appropriate laser light and energy are used, the hair conducts heat into the bulb of the hair and when in a growth phase, the stem cells are heated and damaged.  Over multiple treatments, the bulb is damaged to the point that it can no longer produce hair.  Multiple treatments are required due to the fact that hair grows at different rates and some follicles are actively producing and some are dormant.  New follicles can also generate in areas that have never produced hair.... i.e. the new hair that forms on your face or back that was never there before.  Lasers and IPL can be used in essentally all areas to remove hair.  The most effective areas are for body hair.  Because it is usually dark and thick, it conducts the heat into the follicle most effectively.  Body hair can usually be reduced by 80% or more in just six treatments 6 weeks apart.  Facial hair is usually thinner and less dark.  Therefore, it usually requires 9 treatments 6 weeks apart or more for lighter hair.  Very light white hair is usually not conducive to laser as it reflects all light and does not conduct heat.

If you are tired of all of the other temporary fixes for unwanted hair.....try laser hair reduction.....it works.  We use the Cutera system at Total Body Surgical.  It is a time tested platform that uses both laser and IPL.  This gives options for some of the more stubborn areas.  It is also easy to afford.  It used to be pretty pricey but now is in most peoples price range.  At Total Body Surgical we charge by the treatment and have many options if multiple areas are to be treated.  We charge $50.00 per treatment for a small area (face, underarms, bikini) and $75 for large areas (full back or chest or abdomen).  Do the math and you will see how over time you actually save money over waxing, shaving or creams.

Call us today to make an appointment...918-786-7780 or fill out a contact form.

Don't forget our other special deals on liposuction, nail fungus, and lap bands!!  

Last week I tried to explain, in easy to understand terms, how lasers work.  Of course this is a very complicated subject involving physics and science so I tried to make it simple.  What you should try to understand is this....with lasers in Cosmetic and vein surgery, what we are trying to accomplish is using the right wavelength of light to excite or remove a certain color or tissue.  Over the next few weeks, I will attempt to help you understand what is possible using lasers.  I hope I am successful.

Today I am going to discuss how we use lasers to remove tattoos. 

When I was a kid....a long time ago....tattoos were one of the things that were considered very exotic.  You only ever saw them on merchant marines, sailors, WWII vets, etc.  I'm not sure when they came into vogue, but today, they are more than common.  Whether good or bad, they have also become much more complicated.

  (Typical WWII era tattoo...single color, small in size, shallow depth of ink)

Todays tattoos have multiple colors, can be very large, and use technology that puts the ink in the skin with more uniformity and depth. 

(new tattoo...larger, more colors, broad spacing, deeper pigment)

The other thing we see is that the inks are mixed to create some of these colors which makes it more difficult to remove.

People get tattoos for various reasons and they usually get them when they are young.  Later in life, as skin changes and we age, they may become less attractive...and...styles change.  Some designs may fall out of vogue.  Another problem is employment.  Visible tattoos that are difficult to conceal may become a problem with some job seekers.  They were put on without regard for the future.  We run into this often.  Individuals want to advance in a job but cannot because of policies against visible body art.  For these reasons, many people want them removed.

The simple fact is that tattoos are by nature associated with scar tissue which can never be removed.  For this reason, the skin can never be returned to its pristine, pre-tattoo state... but we can get close... most of the time.  In comes the q-switched laser (see last weeks blog for information on what this means).  The ink in a tattoo is deposited in the layers of the skin in "globs".  These packets of ink are a foreign body and our immune system is constantly eating away at them.  They are large though and this takes time....lots of it.  If you look at an older tattoo, the color is not as vivid, real old tattos may fade completely, and this is why.  By choosing the right wavelength of laser light and firing it at the ink there is a percussive effect that breaks up the "globs" into more manageable smaller deposits.  The body can handle these quicker and easier.

The easiest tattoos to remove are the black and red ones.  The q-switched 1064nm yag laser hits black very well and the q-switched 532 nm hits red.  When fired at the ink, there is a pop as it is dispersed into smaller packets that the immune system can handle.  The idea is to break up the ink without creating a lot of heat.  Too much heat can cause a burn and create a tattoo shaped burn scar.  The harder colors are greens, blues, and pastels.  For these we have to use blended wave lengths or pulsed dye lasers that have less quality and power.  Black and red tattos can usually be removed in several treatments 6-9, the other colors can take years to remove.  The other factor is the quality of ink used.  Some inks are easy and others are not.  Some inks contain iron oxides that are impossible to treat without creating heat AND resulting scar tissue.  Fortunately we see these inks infrequently.  That is what makes tattoo removal difficult and somewhat unpredictable.  There is a movement to standardize ink and this would be good.  It would make the removal process much more standardized as well.  Ethnic skin adds a whole other dimension to removal as pigment in the skin also attracts the light and changes in skin color can occur after removal that may be permanent.

Tattoo removal without local anesthetic is not without discomfort.  We usually use topical anethesia at a minimum and injected local on most.  Treatments are usually quick and done at 6 week intervals to allow the body to catch up absorbing the ink.  Removal can be costly due to the number of treatments and the expense of the laser equipment.  Q-switched lasers are not cheap and it takes multiple devices due to the different wavelengths required.

That's it...tattoo removal in a nutshell.  It is much more complicated but I don't want to overwhelm. Come see us at Total Body Surgical for a no cost evaluation and estimate if you want your tattoo removed....Call 918-786-7780 for an appointment to see our tattoo removal specialist or fill out the contact form and we will call you!!

Don't forget our special pricing on liposuction, lap bands, and nail fungus too.

I want to spend some time discussing lasers and how we use them today.  Lasers have been around for some time.  In the past, at least as far as medicine is concerned, they have been a technology looking for an application.  In the past several years, improvements in technology have made them much safer and applications have greatly increased.

  Austin Powers....demonstrated his ignorance of laser technology.  Lasers have been a mystery to most!! 

Laser and intense light or flash lamp therapy are both based on concentrated light.  Let's talk about lasers first.

Lasers are concentrated light that can be used for multiple applications.  They have been used in industrial applications for years. Medical lasers have numerous applications as well.  We use them to to clear up and make skin look prettier.  We use them to remove tattoo's.  They are used to treat veins and vascular problems on the body and face, even varicose veins.  We can remove unwanted hair, laser fat cells, make skin contract, use them to cut skin, and now we can treat toenail fungus which has been a nagging problem.

Pulsed light therapy is based on a bright flash of light shot onto the skin.  Also called a flash lamp, this technology has been used for other applications, photography, etc.  In cosmetic surgery we use it to treat spots and different pigments on the skin of the face or body.

Unfortunately, there is no single laser that can be used for all applications.  Not to get too complicated (because it is complicated) the way we choose what laser or lamp to used is based on the chromophore we are trying to treat.  A chromophore is the part of a molecule or cell that produces its color.  Each laser or flash lamp has a wave length that attacks that color.  This is why one laser or lamp will not work on all colors.  We know what colors we are trying to treat and select the laser or lamp that will work on that specific color.  This is where the art meets the science.  With some applications, we are aiming at water in the skin as the chromophore, especially when resurfacing the skin. 

The most common laser currently used in Cosmetic Surgery are the nd-YAG, the KTP, the CO2, and the pulsed dye lasers.  Each of these target a different chromophore or color.  The newest developments in the technology is the fractional and q-switched technologies.  We used to resurface skin by ablating or lasering the entire skin surface.  Since the skin recovers by healing from the hair follicle, recovery was slower than desired and this scared people.  Fractional lasers give us the ability to divide or fractionate the pulse of light from the laser.  This leaves islands of undamaged skin between the areas treated.  There are more and larger areas for the skin to heal.  The advantages are that healing is much faster and complication rates are less.  The disadvantages are that the treatment is not quite as good and may require more than a single session.  Q switching is a way to modulate the laser output to get a better "quality" of light energy, more intense output per pulse.  I will talk more about Q-switching when I discuss tattoo removal.

Flash lamps also treat specific colors in the skin.  They are used for treatment of brown pigment, red pigment, and hair in the treatment areas.  With flash lamps, we must change the wavelength of the light to treat each problem.

Now that the boring part is over, next week we will begin to explore the problems we treat and what we use to treat them.

Don't forget our nail fungus, lap band, and liposuction deals that are currently running.  We also are having multiple Botox events in Tulsa and Grove to get everyone ready for the holidays!!  Send me a message, fill out a contact form, or call 918-786-7780 to find out when and where.

Last week we discussed more common general surgery procedures that can be performed with Cosmetic procedures.  What else can be done???  It is hard to come up with a complete list there are so many. 

Here are some suggestions:

Many people have a fear of needles.  While anesthesia is administered for other elective surgery, it is a great time to place dermal fillers in the nasolabial folds, marrionette lines, or even augment the lips.  Of course Botox can be injected as well.

More substantial procedures can be done as well.  Breast augmentation can be added to elective laparoscopic procedures such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy, small laparoscopic hernia repairs, many gyn procedures and so on.  Of course if the primary procedure is being done due to infection or obstruction or other serious illness, this is not possible.

Laser skin resurfacing can be done while under general anesthesia for non-emergent procedures as well.  This allows the procedure to be done without the discomfort sometimes associated with resurfacing.  Light therapy for sun spots or closure of facial veins can also be done.

Arm reductions, small area liposuction, face work, injections, laser work, tummy tucks, breast augmentation can all be added to general surgical procedures when the procedure is purely elective. 

What are the advantages of combining procedures??  As we discussed last week, the advantages are many.  First of all, a single anesthesia is very advantageous, lowering risk by limiting the number of anesthetic exposures.  Secondly, a single surgical recovery is much better than multiple ones.  The recovery is simultaneous.

There it is, short and sweet.  Procedures can be combined if desired and safe.  Come see us at Total Body Surgical and we can discuss what is possible.  Call 918-786-7780 or fill out a contact form and we will call you!  Don't forget our special pricing on liposuction, lap bands, nail fungus, and fillers.

We are also planning Botox events in Grove and in Tulsa this month to be ready for the holidays.  Special pricing will be offered at these events.  Sign up using a contact form and we will inform you of the dates and times....or you can call.

More next week!  Oh, and like us on facebook!

Onchomycosis, also known as nail fungus, is a very common problem.

It is a problem that can make people very self conscious and is often very difficult to treat effectively. The cause is a fungus called tinea unguum.  The fungus infects the nail bed where it is protected, moist, warm, and has a good supply of food.  Common risk factors for fungal infection are:

• Getting manicures and pedicures using utensils that have been used on other people

• Getting minor skin or nail injuries

• Having a nail deformity or nail disease

• Having moist skin for a long time

• Poorly functioning immune system (Diabetes and smoking)

• Wearing closed-in footwear

Symptoms

Nail changes on one or more nails (usually toenails):

• Brittleness

• Change in nail shape

• Crumbling of the outside edges of the nail

• Debris trapped under the nail

• Loosening or lifting up of the nail

• Loss of luster and shine

• Thickening of the nail

• White or yellow streaks on the side of the nailThese changes in the nail are unsightly and can lead to discomfort, and to the inability to wear certain footwear due to the thickness of the nail.  Until recently, the problem was very difficult to treat.  Creams, vinegar, nail removal, were the only options.  Then came oral medications:

Over-the-counter creams and ointments generally do not help treat this condition.

Prescription antifungal medicines taken by mouth may help clear the fungus.

• You will need to take the medicine for about 2 to 3 months for toenails; a shorter time for fingernails

• Fluconazole griseofulvin, terbinafine, and itraconazole are used to treat this condition.

• Your health care provider will do lab tests to check for liver damage while you are taking these medicines.

In some cases, the health care provider was required to remove the nail. Nails grow slowly. Even if treatment is successful, a new, clearer nail may take up to a year to grow in. AND the treatment effectiveness is only about 50%.

So why am I writing this???  Well, there is a new treatment that is being used that is about 80% effective and I can give it to you.  NO blood tests, NO risk of liver damage, NO anesthesia, NO pain.  Also, very quick and usually only takes two treatments.  It is done using FDA approved laser treatment. 

The treatment is done in the office and takes about 15 minutes.  We use a 1064 YAG laser that warms the nail and kills the fungus.  We treat all 10 toes and repeat the treatment in 6 weeks.  Usually the nail re-grows and looks normal in 3-6 months.  NO anesthesia is required and can be done on the day of your first visit is you schedule.  If more than 2 treatments are required, the cost is greatly reduced.

The expense of the medications and lab work required could exceed $1000.00 and, again, was only 50% effective.  The laser treatment for all toes, both feet, two treatments is $800.00...very affordable.

Book your appointment today and tell them it is for treatment of nail fungus so we can schedule laser time.  We will have you back in open toed shoes or sandles before next summer!!!  Call 918-786-7780 or fill out the contact form and we will call you!

Don't forget out lap band special AND we are starting a new liposuction promotion until Christmas...get one area 10% off and get a second smaller area FREE!!!                          

Click on image to see lipo special offer!